


Room for another

by forthegenuine



Category: Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab
Genre: A Conjuring of Light spoilers, Canon Compliant, F/M, Kissing, Light Angst, Missing Scene, Oral Sex, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:47:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22569619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forthegenuine/pseuds/forthegenuine
Summary: "Room for another?" she asked, feeling like a fool even as she said it. There were only four cabins...Missing scenes from Lila and Kell's cabin onboard theGhostin ACOL, in three parts.
Relationships: Delilah Bard/Kell Maresh
Comments: 6
Kudos: 101





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oops, my hand slipped. 
> 
> What it says on the tin.

“… come with me.”

“Lila.” He didn’t mean to pour all his sadness out into one word––much less, her name––but like the waves knocking on the starboard side of the _Ghost_ , it was too late to reverse it.

She kissed him then, and in that moment, her lips were a balm that seemed to smooth the tear that ran down the middle of his heart. At the very least, the feel of her in his arms––solid and whole––delayed the choice he had to make, pushing it to a distant future. When she reached up and threaded her fingers through his hair, her mouth opening to his and her heart beating against his chest, the world shrank into the space they occupied in the small cabin afloat on the Arnesian sea.

He surfaced first and looked into her brown eyes––one ordinary, the other a riotous starburst––while he caught his breath. He pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and noticed something there, a silvery glass hairpin. “This is pretty,” he remarked. He kept the surprise hidden from his voice, for he never knew Lila to be interested in something so fine and elegant that could not be used to mortally wound a man.

Lila blinked, touching the bead with her fingers as if she had forgotten it was there. “It was Calla’s. I found it the other night.” He felt her shoulder sag against him. “She’s gone, Kell.”

Calla. He thought of the merchant’s warm maternal smile, of her gentle prodding into his romantic pursuits, of her undisguised enthusiasm to see him reunited with Lila, of her treating him like a normal person––not _Aven vares_ , but as _Kell_.

His knees gave way, as the skiff rolled over a larger wave, though he was certain that was not the reason he lost his balance. He sank onto the small cot, and Lila followed, sitting next to him. He reached for her hand and she returned his grasp with a squeeze.

They sat side by side with their ghosts, of the ones they had lost and the ones they feared they do not, on a ship aptly named, that bore them into the unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuing the blood spells lesson, and it's Kell's turn... ya dig?
> 
> I took some liberties with character background here, so I suppose it's no longer canon compliant. But, I mean, it's a strong headcanon for me, so bear with me.

“Was that a good enough lesson?” Kell’s breath was still ragged as he made his way up her body to join her again.

With an eagerness that should not have surprised him, Lila rose to straddle him, smile creeping on her lips, knees on either side of his hips. “Well. Let’s see if I remember it all,” she said devilishly.

Before he could put his hands on her waist, she guided them above his head. He felt the delicious weight of her body on top of his as she leaned over him, her chest pressing against his, beating wildly in tune with each other’s. 

“ _As Travars. As Tascen. As Hasari_ ,” she rattled off in an alluring voice over one ear. “ _As Staro. As Pryrata. As Anasae_ ,” into the other, a wicked grin chasing the words as she spoke them. She seared a blazing kiss on his mouth, all tongue and teeth with just a hint of sweetness that only seemed to appear when they were alone (which suited him just fine). It did maddening things to him, the knowledge that she could taste herself on his lips. Then, suddenly, she straightened her back and he almost whimpered at the loss of contact with her heartbeat.

He was growing aware of how tight his breeches had become with each excruciatingly exquisite moment she was on top of him. He could do nothing but watch, hands still suspended above his head as if invisible cords kept them there, as she crossed her arms at her front, grasping her shirt at the hems, and pulled it over her head in a fluid motion. 

“ _As Steno. As Orense_ ,” she recited triumphantly, dropping her tunic to the side, though he was less clear about which victory she was enjoying.

 _Saints_. His last thought before his mind went completely blank was that he could never call upon those blood spells the same way ever again without conjuring the memory of Lila, bare, and perched on top of him as though she were some sort of pirate queen, come to claim her conquest. She’d barely even touched him yet. 

Kell swallowed. His mouth, which had gone horribly dry one moment, began to water as he pictured cupping her breasts and how perfectly they would fit in his hands.

Lila began the work of unbuttoning his shirt with slow, deliberate fingers, her eyes cast down at her exploits even though she began to speak in a low voice, “Two years ago, I stayed in a bawdy house in Covent Garden.” She paused, looking up at him with mismatched eyes, trying to discern his expression. He had all but stilled his body, and even his breath caught inside his lungs. She went on, unfastening the rest and unfolding her story. “There was a man who came round, causing trouble with some of the girls. Took a hand, sometimes rougher, to them. The madam couldn’t be bothered to protect her investments and the law wouldn’t listen to destitute women of ill repute. They needed protection and I needed a job. They let me stay with them in an unoccupied room, and I was their cutthroat for hire.” 

Something told him that she spared him some of the finer details but he lost track of the thought when she leaned in and kissed his jaw, his throat, his collarbone, stopping briefly at his silver scar and pressed her lips to it before making her way down the planes of his chest and stomach. 

“But since they couldn’t pay me in coin, I took my payment some other way.” 

Kell’s eyes were transfixed on her. He was rendered a jumble of emotions: protectiveness, indignation, vindication, but most of all, an undercurrent running through all of them––desire.

“I was a _very_ good student.” 

Thief’s fingers undid the laces of his trousers, and he let out a breath as his cock came free. He felt her hot breath on him for just an instant, hands skimming his thighs, before she covered him with her mouth. Tongue and lips––warm and wet and soft––ran the length of him and up again. His back arched involuntarily while his head sunk deeper onto the cot. He forced his neck to crane his head, a profound yearning to burn this into his memory as well. The sight of her head bobbing up and down, taking him in deeper and deeper, between his legs was enough to send him over. He broke free of the imaginary ties that bound his hands, and he carded his fingers through her dark hair––the need to touch her so overwhelming. His head was swimming––delirious and dizzy––so full of nothing but––

“Oh, _Lila_. Fu––”

It didn’t take much longer until she brought him over the edge. He bit back a groan, sending what he hoped to kings were silent curses at the cabin’s ceiling, and not out loud. Somewhere, in the hazy part of his mind, he thought it was embarrassing enough that Rhy could probably feel the echoes of what Kell just experienced. He did not dwell on the thought too long.

She rubbed his thighs, coaxing him back, her palms skimmed his skin and sent up little jolts of electricity. She had a delectable smirk on her face, and once she caught his gaze, she wantonly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. It made him want to kiss her. 

“ _Saints_. Lila, please come here.” 

He gathered her up and covered her mouth with his, languid and slow, each melting on the other’s tongue, tastes lingering even after they parted. She tucked herself under his arm and she crowded over one side of his chest, her ear pressed to his skin. He fell to stroking her bare back as she drew circles over the remnants of the soul seal above his heart. 

Boneless as he was, probably to the point of drunkenness, a laugh bubbled up from his chest, nearly startling her.

She lifted her head in confusion. “What?” 

“Is it true that lovers like men with scars?”

She lowered her head back to its previous position, resuming her ministrations. “Depends on the scar.” He felt a smile spread on both their lips, as she pressed the side of her mouth to his skin. “And depends on the man.” 

Kell felt his eyes drift closed, his heart beating unhurriedly under Lila’s fingertips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right before the gang reaches Tanek...

He heard someone call his name, but he couldn’t even spare the energy to feel pain, much less lose his focus on anything but the breeze under his command that would take them home. _Rhy, Rhy, Rhy,_ echoed his mind.

“ _Kell_.” Lila’s face suddenly came into focus. It was murky around the edges, but he saw it was tinged with worry and alarm. “Kell.” She spoke to him slowly, and it took several seconds before he realised she held his head between her palms. Her face was mere inches away from his. “This is as far as you can take us. Alucard can steer the boat the rest of the way.”

She let go of him, but did not move away. He looked to Emery, of all people, as if to glean his confirmation. The captain merely nodded. For the first time since he’d known him––not that Kell could even savor it––Emery actually looked scared of him. Kell lowered his arms and let the current of air die down. Only then did he feel the tremor in his limbs and the sweat trickling down his forehead. Lila was there to catch him as the flood of magic suddenly left his body.

The vessel slowed to a more natural speed, helped along by the trade wind, and Alucard took the helm.

Lila urged, her voice a bit gentler, “Let’s get you cleaned up. You’re no good to Rhy this way.”

At the mention of his brother's name, a hand flew to his chest, though the pain was no longer as sharp as it had been. As Alucard and Holland looked on, he let Lila lead him into their cabin. He was grateful for her arm, least of all, as she did.

Once inside, she handed him a wet cloth and began packing their belongings. He watched her for a moment, while he collected himself, sitting on the cot as he wiped his face with the piece of fabric. His sight followed her hand, which slipped into her own pocket but produced nothing. He knew the gesture, had seen it dozens of times, and knew that every time she reached in and felt the watch’s absence, she grieved the loss of the man who owned it all over again.

“What did you give Maris for the Inheritor?” he probed, intending for some conversation that might cut through her thoughts.

She looked up at him. “Believe it or not, she wanted my eye––the old, broken one.”

He closed the space between them––though there was not much room in the tight cabin to begin with––and brushed the lock of hair that had fallen over her black eye. “And for this?” he asked.

“She said I would owe her a favor.” She swallowed. “To be called upon in future.” She trailed off, glancing into the distance for a moment, lost––as if fathoming what lay ahead, as if it existed. He envied her indefatigable optimism, but more so, he wished he could be more like her. She turned toward him again. “Alucard said the binding rings were worth three years. What did he mean?”

He cursed the captain inwardly and let out a sigh. “I gave up three years… of my life.”

Her eyes widened just a fraction. He watched her work out the possibility that such a thing was conceivable by magic. Sometimes, he forgot that she had not always been part of his world. She dropped the pack she assembled since, Kell realized, it was merely pretense anyway. He grimly braced himself for the upbraiding he was sure would come.

But there was no accusation, no rebuke, that followed. Instead, the blow came from the look in her eyes, the wound in them, and it landed as a question that contained a quiver he had never heard come from her before. “Were you going to tell me?”

He turned the question over in his mind. After a pause, he said quietly, “Yes.” He might have stopped there, but he kept going. Like _Antari_ magic, perhaps if he said it out loud, a verbal pact, it might come to pass too. It was as close to hope as he was going to get. “After everything was over. When everybody got their happily ever after.” He offered her a small smile as he repeated her own words back to her. “I was going to tell you then.”

A corner of her mouth lifted. “Promise?”

Then her words rang in his head. _If he gives_ me _a shot, I’m going to take it… May the best_ Antari _win_ , she’d said earlier, a challenge in her voice. “Lila.” He reached for her hand, clasping their fingers. “When we get to London, promise me you won’t let him in.” It was a dangerous request––a reasonable one, to any other person––but she was not just any other person.

She withdrew her hand from his grasp, and when she didn't answer, he thought for a moment that he’d soured the mood. But she took a step and she was slotted between his legs, his knees framing her thighs. She placed a hand on his cheek, their dual-colored gazes matching. Her eyes roamed his face, examining its terrain, looking for signs of the missing years, and probably wondering how it slipped her notice before. Then she lowered her mouth to his, erasing the remaining space between them, kissing him.

He responded, a reflex, a given, opening and reaching for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while his hands found her waist until they encircled her body, pulling her closer still. He breathed her in, inhaling the sea salt breeze of her hair, the magic from her pores, and the inkling of limbs entwined.

They were of a single heartbeat, and for the first time since he’d given them up, Kell regretted surrendering three years of his life, because it meant not kissing Lila Bard. He already had four months to make up for. He was half in love with her even before she returned to London, and by the time he outstretched his hand to ask her to dance and lowered his hand on the curve of her waist, he had fallen over utterly, unequivocally and irreversibly. He wanted to tell her as much.

But they were neither of them such fools as to make promises to each other that they could not keep. The best he could do, however, was choose. He decided would live for her, for this, for the rest of his life––however long or brief it might turn out to be.

Lila pulled back first, brushing his mussed hair from his face, just as he had a few minutes before. She was breathless and breathtaking. “That’s brilliant then,” she determined approvingly. He gave her a quizzical look. She pressed her lips against his––a stolen kiss––always the thief. They curved upward at the edges. “I’ve always wanted to take up with an older man.”

Despite it all, Kell laughed.

Though it was followed by a dull pain that shortly sent his hand up his chest once more, and concern rewrote itself on her face. “Does it still hurt?”

He opened his mouth to answer, but none came. The _Ghost_ suddenly came to a standstill. Even though he had yet to earn his sea legs, he knew this was not routine. Alucard’s voice called from above. Kell met Lila’s eyes again, set and grim, before he followed her up onto the deck, half a step behind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Kudos, comments, and feedback are immensely appreciated!!
> 
> I'm [@forthegenuine](http://forthegenuine.tumblr.com) on tumblr and in need of more KellxLila friends. Cheers x


End file.
